Inspiring farm conservation stewardship: adaptations to incentive-based campaigns

Traditional information-based campaigns, programs of voluntary incentive-based technical and financial assistance and regulatory compulsion have proved moderately effective in the past to abate bacterial pollution from livestock operations. These have been an industry standard for decades as the exclusive means to motivate land managers to adopt stewardship practices. These methods have failed to sustain reductions in bacteria from farms primarily because they leave 60% of the target audience unengaged. Widespread adoption of better livestock and manure management practices can reduce fecal coliform bacteria in both fresh and marine waters. However, to achieve and maintain Approved shellfish growing areas, land stewardship must be sustained by building trust, developing social norms, and nurturing values associated with clean water. Whatcom Conservation District has been assisting landowners in with their conservation choices since 1946, to foster a healthy, sustainable relationship between people and the environment, and has been working in Drayton Harbor since 2006. Along the way, the District has adapted its traditional incentive-based programming and marketed a variety of programs that have increased adoption of Best Management Practices and values associated with good water quality. Program success requires adaptation to local demographics, resource concerns, existing conservation initiatives and most importantly the cultural values associated with that community. In this session, we will explore lessons learned, adaptive management strategies, and results of the robust education and technical assistance program in the Drayton Harbor community that have resulted in extensive adoption of best management practices to improve and sustain water quality

Public outreach: growing and adapting with changing times

Drayton Harbor’s 2016 reopening of 810 acres of commercial, tribal, and recreational shellfish harvesting area marked a significant achievement in the efforts to improve water quality and allow year-round harvest of the productive shellfish growing area. Public outreach over the past 20 years played a critical role in engaging the local community and encouraging on-the-ground actions to reduce pollution throughout the watershed. Bacteria pollution is a complex issue requiring diverse solutions; no single fix exists. In the Drayton Harbor watershed, a variety of organizations, agencies, and community members participated in developing and carrying out a robust and diverse outreach strategy that was adapted over time. We will review the history of these key outreach players and their roles in Drayton Harbor water quality improvements. Successful outreach efforts from Whatcom County’s Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) Program included the development of online water quality summaries, online interactive results map, community events, video shorts, and the septic system maintenance rebate program. Future outreach goals include the use of social marketing to normalize pollution prevention actions such as routine septic system maintenance. Ultimately, sustaining good water quality and safe, year-round shellfish harvest requires ongoing community engagement

Breaking Through Barriers: Using Peer-to-Peer Networking to Promote Voluntary Land Stewardship

Traditional approaches aimed at changing behavior have left us short of achieving our pollution reduction goals from livestock operations. Whatcom Conservation District has dramatically increased the number of landowners they assisted with desired conservation practices by employing social marketing strategies, in combination with these more traditional strategies, over the last 5 years. Multimedia communication tools include our Landowner Spotlight photo essays, Virtual Pasture Series video tours, and our partnerships with Community Based Organization. These strategies build normative behavior and a culture of stewardship in the agricultural community. In this session, we will explore lessons learned, adaptive management, and results of a robust peer-to-peer social marketing program in the Whatcom County Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) program. This presentation will specifically highlight our Virtual Pasture Series. These digital farm tours ran from March to October showcasing how various local farms adapt their management seasonally. Seven, 3-6 minute videos showcase how Whatcom County farmers manage their pastures to increase yields, improve soil health, grow high quality forage for their animals, and illustrate how they are preparing their farms for the winter. By highlighting different farmers and their pasture stewardship, we are normalizing conservation behaviors by using trusted messengers of information to highlight incentives and support tools available through the PIC program

Community Based Watershed Conservation Efforts

Community based watershed scale conservation efforts have been the focus of educational, financial and technical assistance programs for decades. Each of these programs adapts to local demographics, resource concerns, existing conservation initiatives and most importantly the cultural values associated with that community. But what have they all learned? What can we learn from decades of work? In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency of Puget Sound awarded the Whatcom Conservation District 5 years of funding for an intensive community based, non-regulatory, social marketing campaign to improve water quality and salmon habitat in the Birch Bay watershed in northwestern Washington. The program encouraged residents to adopt stewardship practices, use low impact development and agricultural best management practices, and participate in restoration projects. In this session we will explore lessons learned, adaptive management and results of the robust program evaluation of the Birch Bay initiative. We will also examine how this case study compares to a number of peer-reviewed reports on community based watershed conservation programs from across the nation, evaluating the long-term effectiveness of outreach and educational campaigns and drawing conclusions based on decades of work